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CEDAR FALLS – Mark Farley’s laughter clattered down a 111-year old track Tuesday.

It felt like a rugged ride.

Asked about Saturday’s 17-16, heartbreaking loss to Iowa, Northern Iowa’s football coach put the season-opening game in perspective. The Hawkeyes blocked two Billy Hallgren field goal tries at the end of the fourth quarter, denying UNI its first victory in the series since Nov. 5, 1898.

“You do lose sleep at night, but it’s not life-threatening or anything,” said Farley. “But … (111) years for one freakin’ kick.”

Farley grinned and laughed. Then he added, “In the end, you’ve gotta be pleased with the players but yet so disappointed in the opportunity lost because it took so long to get to that point.”

Farley’s feelings weren’t mixed on another front. The Panthers don’t have 111 years to recover from the 2009 Iowa setback, because the next opponent is only a Saturday away.

South Dakota comes to the UNI-Dome for the home debut at 4:05 p.m.

“We told the team yesterday in the meeting, the real world says we lost the football game,” said Farley.

He added, “That’s why (South Dakota) becomes a critical football game for us. We’re 0-1 as we stand.”

A year ago, UNI occupied roughly the same spot. Following a loss to a ranked team (Brigham Young) in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the Panthers returned home to play South Dakota.

It was far from an easy Saturday. Quarterback Noah Shepard led the Coyotes to 415 yards of total offense, but UNI’s defense forced four turnovers. Behind 154 yards by Corey Lewis, the Panthers won 24-13.

Shepard is back for South Dakota along with 15 returning starters – 10 on offense and five defensively. USD opened 2009 with a 52-0 blowout of William Penn.